


the rooftop caper

by leftshoelace



Category: Carmen Sandiego (Cartoon 2019)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Arguing, Carmen Sandiego more like Carmen SADniego, Crying, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Forehead Kisses, Forehead Touching, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Love Confessions, Mutual Pining, Partners to Lovers, Post Episode: s04e08 The Dark Red Caper, Requited Love, Rescue, Trauma, angry crying, free falling, hand holding, idiots to lovers, tearful kisses, tearful reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 06:34:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29755530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leftshoelace/pseuds/leftshoelace
Summary: I could be long goneI could be a ghost in your eardrum
Relationships: Carmen SanDiego/Ivy, Ivy/Carmen Sandiego | Black Sheep
Comments: 5
Kudos: 22





	the rooftop caper

**Author's Note:**

> written to Experience by Ludovico Einaudi (listen [here](https://open.spotify.com/artist/2uFUBdaVGtyMqckSeCl0Qj))
> 
> also small CW for jumping off a very high building, and family loss - it's not intended as s****de but just in case anyone needs it, this is your warning

All she knew was that she was running, and she couldn't stop. She bolted down the barren corridors of the hospital, sneakers thwapping against the lino flooring, the sound bouncing off the soulless white plaster walls, silenced by the heartbeat thundering in her ears. She swung a sharp turn into the stairwell, taking the steps two at a time. Up, and up, and up she ran, corner after corner, spiralling up the stairs. Her lungs were burning, her calves stinging, thighs threatening a cramp. Still, she pressed on, pushing herself up the stairs, desperately hoping each corner turn would lead her to where she needed to be. She couldn't give up— there were lives on the line. Irreplaceable lives that would be lost if she stopped running. So she didn't. Her gasping breaths echoed against the brutalist concrete walls encasing the stairs; a stitch forming in her side, panic forming in her throat. She refused to stop. 

"Come on, Carm," she breathed, hauling herself up the stairs, one hand clutching her side as she barrelled up the steps, "Just hold on a few moments more, please,"

She shot a look upwards, praying to whatever would listen that Carmen would wait, just a few moments more. Just a few seconds. A half-second hesitation would do. She would take whatever she could get. 

Turning a final corner, she up a dashed final flight of stairs, met by a hefty fire escape door labelled _'ROOF-PRIVATE ONLY ENTRY'_ in thick, bold lettering. Ivy barged through it, leaving it to slam against the brick wall behind it with a nasty crunch of metal on mortar. On the other side of the roof— a solid fifteen metres away from where Ivy had just thrown open the roof door, was a figure in red. She stood on the ledge of the building, one perfectly gloved hand reaching up to her wide-brimmed hat, and discarding it on the concrete flat behind her. 

Ivy's face dropped into an expression of horror as she raced to stop the lady in red. She was so close— almost touching her coattails— when Carmen spread her arms out wide, leaning forward into the biting wind with a single breath, and dived off the edge of the building into the unforgiving drop below. Her scarlet trenchcoat rippled out behind her in the wind, a red flag of surrender. 

A guttural scream tore itself from Ivy's throat in the shape of Carmen's name, and, without a second thought, the redhead dived too. Feeling the bitter chill of the city air against her flushed skin, the wind scratched at her exposed arms, billowing in the sleeves of her t-shirt and stinging at her eyes. Fear gripped her chest with an iron fist, and any shrieks that wanted to escape her lips were strangled, choking out pathetic cries as her vision blurred. 

Her stomach dropped, her eyes streamed, and so, both terrified and excited, she tumbled down

down

_down._

The view was humbling: smears of yellow from the taxi rank, quilt-patch colour blocks in the form of flower stands and pop-up grocers. It was all so serene. In that moment, Ivy held more clarity than she had ever had in all her twenty years of living. Every single dot on the concrete below her had a story, had a dream, had a passion. Every single taxi cab had a destination and a history and a someone on their way to hold their loved ones. It was all so vibrant, and everyone below had so much _love_ to offer it was almost overwhelming. Ivy was surrounded by every sense— every smell she's ever known, every touch she's ever cherished, every laugh she's ever heard, every love she's ever tasted, every naked soul she's ever seen. Life wrapped around her like a favourite scarf on a cold day, and she inhaled the welcoming it offered. There, plummeting from the very building she had just scrambled up, Ivy was imbued by every single beautiful thing she's ever had the privilege of knowing. 

And she wanted to know it all. 

Spreading her limbs out to balance herself, she reached out a hand to the bleary crimson figure in front of her, fingertips skimming Carmen's side, and wrapped her arm around the super-thief's waist. With the other hand, she snagged the grappling gun from Carmen's coat pocket and let off a shot blindly, eyes so dry she could barely keep them open. She squeezed them shut and sent out a second prayer— and briefly considered changing her stand on religion as she buried her face in Carmen's hair— when the line went taught, and she and Carmen came to a harsh, jolting stop. 

Fire exploded in Ivy's right arm, the agony forcing a broken cry from her lips, but she refused to let go. She could feel her limbs shaking, the adrenaline wearing off, but she wouldn't let go. Not now. Not ever. She gave a sharp tug on the wire, and the two women were hauled upwards into the sky once more; just in time to see a lime green glider fold open and a familiar face swoop away. They drew closer and closer to the safety of the rooftop, and the green arrow grew smaller and smaller, eventually disappearing into the horizon like a phantom, escaping to places unknown. 

With a sharp flick of the wire, Carmen and Ivy were flung onto the roof once more, the thief landing nimbly on her feet, and Ivy collapsing to her knees on the solid ground beneath her. The adrenaline had well and truly dissipated from her system, and exhaustion had set in quickly. Trembling all over, and a fire still burning in her arms, Ivy hid her face in her hands. Her shoulders began to jolt. 

"What the _HELL_ was that for?" Carmen seethed, back turned to the shaking redhead. "I almost had him! He was _right there_ — if I had had just a little bit more time I would have got him! He was the last VILE operative in active play. We were this close-" she held her index finger a thumb a fraction of a centimetre apart- "to catching him. So what the fuck did you think you were doing out there, Ivy? What was _so_ important that you cost us the _last VILE operative to exis-"_ Carmen trailed off, frozen mid-turn, eyes locked upon Ivy's collapsed, shuddering figure. 

"Ives?" she asked, timid, one burgundy gloved hand outstretched towards where Ivy was knelt, trembling. Carmen took a tentative step forward, her boots clacking against the concrete slabs beneath her feet. 

Ivy let her hands go slack, leaving them to tremor in her lap. She lifted her stare to meet Carmen's gaze, tearstains streaking down her freckled face. She was scarily pale, and her skin was clammy. Her upper lip was shiny from where she had wiped her nose on her arm, and wet eyelashes framed bloodshot eyes. Carmen's hand dropped back to her side, and she stopped dead in her tracks. 

Pure, unfiltered fury settled on Ivy's features like a second skin, and tears of white-hot hatred spilt from her eyes. Through gritted teeth, Ivy spoke. 

"Don't. You. _EVER_. pull that shit again, Carmen Sandiego," she spat, venom dripping off of her words like a weapon. "Do you _understand_ what could have happened back there? You- you jumped off a five-hundred- _fucking-foot tall_ building with no glider, no parachute- and- and for what? for a thief that you could get in your sleep? You _SWAN DIVED_ off a fucking _SKYSCRAPER_ _,_ Carmen. Do you have _ANY_ idea what situation you just put yourself in? Not only yourself—but your whole team, too? What if the grappling gun had jammed? Or- or- or it didn't latch to anything? You didn't even have any of us on the ground to catch you- or to- to set up a fucking landing cloth- or something— you just jumped! Because you are a _selfish, callow person_ and who's _too damn proud_ to admit that you're chasing the shredded scraps of VILE because you're too scared to face what happens next!"

"Ivy- I—" Carmen stuttered. She didn't know what to say— no quip, no defence. She'd never seen Ivy this angry before. Not even when VILE goons had their hands on her brother. This was a new type of wrath that Ivy had never displayed in all of Carmen's years of knowing her. And truth be told, Carmen was terrified. 

"I'm not finished," Ivy cut her off. She rose on unsteady legs, making slow, controlled steps towards the thief as she spoke. "You could have died, Carmen. Don't you get that? You could have fallen to your death and _we'd_ be the ones scraping your guts off the sidewalk. How fucking _guilty_ do you think Player would feel, knowing that _he_ sent you on the caper that killed you? Despite everything you _clearly_ think about him, he's just a kid — how do you think he'd cope knowing his one and only friend was six feet fucking under? Did you even consider how much it would crush Shadowsan? After everything you two have been through? After everything he _did_ for you? God, Red, you're like a _daughter_ to him. And you jumped anyway. With no gear, no plan, and no regard for anyone but yourself. 

"I almost died today, Carmen. I jumped a roof. For _y_ _ou."_ Ivy sobbed, jabbing an accusative finger into Carmen's shoulder. "I ran up forty fucking storeys of stairs to save your sorry ass — and- and you jumped anyway. So what gives, Carmen? Were you _trying_ to get yourself killed? You wanna die? Go see a therapist. You've got a family now, you can't just throw all fucking sense to the wind just to get your thrills. It's senseless, it's selfish, and it's cruel. And if this is how you're gonna be then I'm not gonna stick around to watch." Ivy's gaze fell to the concrete, but it was clear she was staring at something Carmen couldn't see. "I've lost enough family to know how it ends."

The words tumbled out of Carmen's mouth before she could stop herself, and the second they were out in the open, dread settled in her stomach. "When did I ask you to jump off a building for me? When did I ask you to catch me?" 

Ivy snapped her attention back to Carmen, silver eyes boreing into brown. "When you became my family. I'd do it for Zack, I'd do it for Player— and I did it for you. We sacrifice for the people we care about, Carmen. And if that means jumping from a hospital roof to stop you from being an idiot, then that's what I'm gonna do," 

Carmen's face dropped to a scowl. "The last group of people that sacrificed for me because they cared wound up getting shot. So why should I expect that of you? Why should you do all this for me— go on capers and take down bad guys— if it's all it's gonna do is get you hurt?! Answer me that, huh! Why do you get to sacrifice yourself for me, Ivy? Why should you drop everything and jump—"

"BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE WITH YOU, YOU IDIOT." 

The ensuing silence echoed in Carmen's slack jaw, her eyes wide. Her lips moved silently, as if she were trying to find the right words to say. As the minutes ticked by, Ivy deflated. 

"You don't have to say anything. To be honest I wasn't going to tell you, and I just hoped I'd get over it. But. Cat's out of the bag now, I guess." She stepped back from where Carmen was stood against the wall by the stairwell entrance, and made towards the door, in the hopes that she would have the walk down to figure out how to coexist with Carmen following an inevitable rejection. 

She was barely two steps in the door when she heard a voice call out:

"Ivy, wait!" 

Ivy froze where she stood, back turned to the thief, her face hidden. She felt a small, soft hand wrap around her good wrist, gently tugging her back to where she had been standing not thirty seconds ago. 

"Look at me," Carmen uttered, sotto voce, her other hand coming to Ivy's shoulder, turning the redhead around so they were face to face. Ivy's stare was thoroughly determined not to be aimed at Carmen, so the super-thief got creative. She took her hand from Ivy's wrist and put it on her cheek, directing her gaze to meet Carmen's own, and gave her a small smile. 

"That's better," she murmured, skimming the pad of her thumb against Ivy's cheekbone. The redhead smiled, in spite of herself, and raised her hand to sit over Carmen's, her touch as gentle as a butterfly's. 

"Mind if I try something?" Carmen asked, her voice genuine. "You are totally okay to say no — I don't want to force anything on you so if you don't want to just say the word and I'll-" 

Ivy interrupted with a squeeze of her friend's hand. "Carm, It's okay. I promise," she assured. Carmen smiled. 

"Okay. Close your eyes," 

Baffled, Ivy did as she was told, eyelids flickering shut and her lashes brushing the tops of her cheeks. Anticipation thrummed through her veins like electricity, awakening every nerve and standing the hair on the back of her neck on end. Her curls shifted and parted as Carmen's hand slid into her hair, her nails running gently across Ivy's scalp. She let out a small hum of approval, a blush rising on her pale freckled face. 

Slowly, god, so painfully slowly, Ivy felt the tender ghost of a kiss brush her lips, the remnants of an anxious touch that set her soul on fire. She slowly opened her eyes, met with a rather bashful Carmen Sandiego staring back at her. A grin formed on Ivy's features, and the words were out of her mouth before she could even think them through. 

"Carmen Sandiego, can I kiss you?" 

Carmen's lips turned into a crooked grin— a genuine expression of joy, and security. She nodded once, twice, three times, and, with all the delicacy of a china doll, Ivy leant forward capturing Carmen's lips with her own. The world seemed to stop turning— the winds dying down, the traffic below them silencing. Carmen tasted of vanilla chapstick and tictacs; a taste that Ivy would never forget. She slowly pulled back, catching Carmen's lip with her teeth as she did so, and the two stared at each other with a look of pure ecstasy, hope (and something unnameably wonderful) sparkling behind their eyes. Carmen pulled Ivy forward once more, crashing their lips together in a time-ending, mind-bending, heart-stopping kiss that had Ivy holding onto Carmen's waist if not for something to hold on to, lest she was to start floating, 

When the two pulled away, Ivy bumped her forehead against Carmen's so painfully gently it sent stars to Carmen's stomach, and the thief grinned. 

"For the record," she murmured, voice barely audible above the once-again very present traffic noise- when did that come back?- "I'm in love with you too, idiot"


End file.
